


with a cherry on top

by startofamoment



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M, Ice Cream Parlors, Ice Cream Shop AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-25
Updated: 2017-01-24
Packaged: 2018-09-19 19:34:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9457508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/startofamoment/pseuds/startofamoment
Summary: “I’m fancy. One time, I had coffee-flavored ice cream.”“Mhm, but was it covered in chocolate sauce, caramel, gummy bears, and fruity pebbles?”“… With a cherry on top, yes.”B99 + Ice Cream Shop AU: in which Amy finally gets to be store manager at 99 Scoops (the Santiago family business) and Jake is her regular customer turned employee.





	1. Chapter 1

Amy made the best ice cream sundaes at 99 Scoops, and she was damn proud of that fact. Granted, the only other employees at their shop were her teenage cousins (who were only working there as punishment for their last massive prank-gone-wrong), and really their sundaes tasted the same as hers… But hers _looked_ prettier.

Her parents had opened the store ages ago, with Mrs. Santiago making fresh batches of ice cream in the small kitchen and Mr. Santiago dealing with management, finances, and other aspects of the business. Over the years, they had been able to expand their store, pay for renovations and equipment, and even hire extra help. Despite the changes, it was still a Santiago family business in every sense; each Santiago child had gotten the chance (or privilege or burden, depending on which kid you asked) to scoop ice cream into cones, refill empty topping bins, and wipe up sticky messes at some point in their life. Amy had both loved and hated spending her summer vacations and school holidays at the shop with at least two brothers at a time.

But this year, this was _her year_.

With Luis at a summer research program out of state, Miguel busy with his new internship, and the rest of her brothers all working "real" jobs, it was finally Amy's turn to step up as store manager. This meant she finally got to man the cashier, pick out the daily specials, and receive the 10% pay raise she'd been waiting for since the deluxe multi-volume Sudoku book set was announced. She initially thought she would hate being there – considering that the rest of her friends were spending the summer after their freshman year studying abroad, taking extra classes, or going on road trips. But then she got entrusted with all this responsibility, and she just _knew_ she wasn’t missing out on anything.

She had just finished expertly drizzling caramel syrup on top of a perfectly round scoop of chocolate ice cream when the chime at the door announced the entrance of another customer.

“Welcome to 99 Scoops! I’ll be with you in a sec,” she called out, handing over the cup of ice cream to the excited little boy waiting in front of the counter.

* * *

 Jake was _exhausted_. Per his mother’s strongly worded suggestion, he dragged himself out of bed and left home to “enjoy the summer sunshine”. Everything had been great – he had even managed to hold his own playing hacky sack with some kids earlier. But then his PSP died, and he realized it was way too hot to be sitting in the park.

He knew he couldn’t go back home just yet, and he couldn’t go to Nana’s because she would just call his mom. He knew Gina was at her intensive dance class, Charles was at a Boyle family reunion, and Rosa was – _well_ , he had no clue where Rosa was, or what she was up to, or if she had summer plans that didn’t involve sharp weapons.

Turning the street corner, he noticed a woman holding a waffle cone with an impossibly high yet impressively stable stack of ice cream. Glancing at the store she walked out of, Jake thought he vaguely remembered Charles gushing about 99 Scoops a few weeks back. Deciding that he could absolutely go for a sundae and that he would probably melt into the earth’s core otherwise, he did a mental count of the money in his wallet and walked toward the shop.

* * *

99 Scoops was a reasonably sized, old school-type ice cream parlor with both bar and table seating. It was set up and decorated to look a lot like a diner, complete with a fully functional (but unused) jukebox in the corner. The main menu board featured 8 “constant” flavors and 4 “seasonal” ones, along with a laundry list of toppings. A smaller separate board noted the day’s “Special Sundae.”

On any other day, in any other ice cream shop, Jake would’ve been drawn to the display case of ice cream. He would’ve spent a good 5 minutes having a mostly inner, partially out loud monologue weighing the simplicity of vanilla versus the unpredictability of the store’s weirdest ice cream flavor. He would’ve spent another 5 minutes trying to come up with the best combination of toppings to go with his chosen ice cream flavor. (He wouldn’t outright admit it, but he completely understood when Charles once rated sundaes by mouth feel.)

But on this day, in this particular ice cream shop, Jake’s attention was drawn to the girl behind the counter. Making his way to the front, he noticed that she was wearing a slightly stained maroon apron with the store logo printed on it. She had a bit of pink-colored cream on her forearm. She had dark brown hair pulled into a neat ponytail, brown eyes that seemed to twinkle, and a smile that made him forget he was about to pass out from the heat. And, _oh_ – she was looking right at him.

“Welcome to the Nine-Nine! Are you ready to order?”

He gulped.

“I can tell you about today’s special if you’re having trouble figuring out what to get!”

_Why didn’t his mouth work?_

“I can also help you design a sundae if you’d rather have something more personalized!”

_Maybe he really was about to pass out._

“I know our menu can be a bit overwhelming sometimes…” she trailed off, grabbing one of the taster spoons and reaching into the freezer. “Here, try this. It’s our new birthday cake flavor that my mom’s been experimenting with lately. If you like it, we can build a sundae from there. If you don’t, I’ve got a few more flavors I think you might like.”

He took the spoon, placed it in his mouth, and had to consciously stop himself from straight up _moaning_ in front of this cute girl over her mom’s ice cream.

“Good?” she asked, breaking his daydream of an ice cream-filled heaven.

“More like _freaking amazing_! Are all your flavors as great as this one? Ooh, could I try that one next?” he pointed to the tub of ice cream with blueberry ribbons swirled in.

She chuckled, handing over another taster spoon. “Today isn’t too busy. You can try them all if you’d like.”

He could’ve married her right there and then.


	2. Chapter 2

He didn’t learn her name until his third visit to the store. At that point, he was completely over being tongue-tied and just really, really wanted to get to know her.

He sat at one of the bar stools and watched her put together his order – two scoops of peanut butter ice cream with strawberry syrup, gummy bears, cookie dough, caramel popcorn, whipped cream, and a cherry on top. She moved quickly but precisely: scooping out a perfect sphere of ice cream in one go, spooning just enough syrup for maximum but not overpowering coverage, and evenly distributing toppings for ultimate satisfaction per bite. Amy Santiago had sundae making down to a science, and Jake Peralta was _impressed_.

She placed the sundae dish in front of him carefully, not wanting the homemade maraschino cherry to fall from its place atop the dollop of whipped cream.

Jake grinned. “This looks so good! Thanks, uh –”

“Amy! You’re welcome, uhm –”

“Jake. Jake Peralta.”

“Well, it’s great to officially meet you, Jake! I gotta say, your orders have made these last three afternoons so much better. Yesterday, I actually had to make nine hot fudge sundaes  _in a row_. It’s like people don’t even read my Special Sundae board!”

“I bet if you changed the name of your specials board to ‘Fundaes on Fun Days’, more people would look at it.” He ate a spoonful of his ice cream. “Actually, that should definitely be a thing. Sundaes should just be called fundaes from now on.”

She shook her head and laughed, handing him a few napkins for the strawberry syrup he was starting to get everywhere. 

* * *

When Jake came in the next day and ordered off her brand new Fundaes on Fun Days board, she beamed.

“This one’s on the house, Jake. You’ll never guess how many fundaes I got to make earlier today!”

He gasped. “You called them fundaes! You agree that all sundaes should be called fundaes!”

She grabbed her scoop and started working on his order. “Seriously, Jake. Thanks for the idea. Oh, and did you want to add anything else to this?”

“Nah, your combo seems perfect as it is. But, uh –” he drummed his fingers on the counter nervously. “Can I get an extra spoon?”

“Yeah, of course,” she placed another spoon and napkin by his set. “Waiting for a friend?”

He fiddled with his spoon. “Actually, I was going to ask if you could join me. I mean, uh, if you’ve got a minute between customers or can get someone to cover you for a bit.”

She dropped the tablespoon she was holding, spilling sprinkles across the counter. Her cheeks colored. “I- wh- Yes! I’d like that! Shoot, let me get this cleaned up first though.”

He chuckled. “Take your time, Ames.”

* * *

Needless to say, Jake was back at 99 Scoops the day after that, and the day after that, and the day after that.

He had developed somewhat of a routine with his summer vacation. In the morning, he would have breakfast with his mom. When she left for work, he’d catch the subway and hang out at Charles’ or Gina’s (never at Rosa’s, though she was typically at Gina’s whenever he dropped by for a visit). At some point, they’d go to the park, watch a movie, or walk around New York pretending to be tourists. In the late afternoon, he’d excuse himself (because he “promised his mom he would have dinner with her” or “had to pick up Nana from her grandma Zumba class”) and head over to 99 Scoops, where he’d order bizarre sundae combinations and chill with Amy for an hour or two. He’d arrive home or at Nana’s for dinner then spend the rest of the night playing video games (and trying not to think about his apron-clad friend and her picture perfect sundaes).

If his mom had ever noticed that he always came home smelling like waffle cones and hot fudge, she never made any mention of it.


	3. Chapter 3

“I’m telling you, Amy, candied bacon is a _great_ topping, and it would go so well with a maple-based ice cream and-slash-or syrup.”

He was at his usual seat at one of the bar stools, and Amy was leaning over the counter. As per usual, she had come over to chat with him once the evening rush had reached a lull.

She rolled her eyes. “Jake, bacon is a _meat product_. Meat and ice cream don’t go well together. You can’t mix savory with sweet!”

“Geez, have an open mind, Amy! But also, it’s _candied_ bacon, so we’re just mixing sweet with more sweet! Trust me on this one, Ames, I saw it on Yahoo Answers when I was searching for ideas for your next fundae.”

Her eyes widened a bit. “You go online and search up ideas for my fundaes?”

Before he could fully process his mistake, a middle-aged woman in a maroon apron had appeared right beside him. “You must be Jacob! I’m Amy’s mom. I’ve heard so much about you from my _unica hija_.”

“ _Mama_ ,” Amy squeaked, suddenly looking like a deer in the headlights.

“Mrs. S! I’m so glad I finally get to meet my favorite Santiago,” he said before switching to an exaggerated stage whisper. “Amy’s alright, but we both know I’m only here for your dulce de leche ice cream.”

Mrs. Santiago laughed and patted him on the back. “So you _are_ as charming as Amy says.”

If the earth could’ve opened up and swallowed her whole in that moment, Amy would not have been opposed.

“Hey, if Amy thinks I’m so charming, then maybe she’d consider my candied bacon suggestion and not write it off immediately.”

Mrs. Santiago gasped then turned to her daughter. “ _Mija_ , what have we told you about arguing with customers? You should’ve written down your friend’s suggestion and put it in the comments box for us to discuss at our biweekly family meeting.”

She looked back at Jake. “I’m sorry about that, Jacob. Candied bacon sounds very interesting, and I will bring it up at our next family meeting myself.”

He smirked and stuck his tongue out at Amy. She huffed and stuck her tongue out at him as well.

Mrs. Santiago shook her head and chuckled at the exchange, then continued. “Jake, I do want to ask you something though. How would you like to start working at 99 Scoops? We’re a little understaffed this summer since her brothers are all busy, plus her cousins are just so unreliable. I’ve heard you’re very creative, and you definitely seem to know your ice cream. You’re here so often that I think you know our menu just as well as any other Santiago might. What do you think? I’m sure Amy would love to see you around the shop even more.”

Amy was horrified. “ _Mama_ , you can’t just offer Jake a job like that! He could be busy! He probably has a life! You can’t expect him to come here and work full-day every day!”

Jake wasn't sure if he was more shocked about getting offered a job at an ice cream shop or about the Amy-related implications of Mrs. Santiago's words. Either way, he was over the moon.

"I probably can't work full-time every day, but a part-time job sounds pretty sweet! I know my mom would approve of me earning some cash instead of wasting my summer away on video games."

"Perfect, Jacob. Can you start tomorrow? _Mija_ will enjoy showing you the ropes."

He nodded quickly while Amy put her head in her hands.

"I'll let you two figure out scheduling, and Mr. Santiago can help you process your official paperwork in the next few days. I'm going to go bake some cookies for that bulk order of ice cream sandwiches. Adios, _niños_!" She pinched Amy's cheek, ruffled Jake's hair, and walked back toward the kitchens.

Jake grinned widely at Amy, who was pouting and rubbing the cheek her mom had pinched. "So what time should I come in tomorrow, boss?"

* * *

Working with Jake was somewhat of a nightmare. His scoops were sloppy and inconsistent. He got toppings everywhere. His maroon apron was thoroughly stained by noon (he knocked over a cup of caramel earlier and problem-solved when he couldn't find a dish rag).

Amy wasn't sure if she wanted to kill him or kiss him.

She had to admit he wasn't all bad, though. His customer service skills were superb. He could easily lift heavy objects, making restocking the freezer a breeze. He somehow looked adorable even in a thoroughly stained apron, with flecks of ice cream up to his elbows and a bit of hot fudge on his cheek (he went a tad crazy when Mrs. Santiago said employees were allowed a reasonable amount of free ice cream).

Amy definitely wanted to kiss him.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on tumblr (@startofamoment) and come chat with me about B99, Jake/Amy, and AUs! ♥
> 
> PS: All the love to @peraltiagoisland for listening me brain barf about this AU for the last few days!!!


End file.
